In the early 1990s, researchers at Georgetown University,
Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Utah proposed a
five-year longitudinal study of female reproductive aging that would
include the collection of hormonal, menstrual cycle, and health data
from a group of women in order to advance the current understanding of
the transition through menopause. The women selected for the BIMORA
project were a subset of women belonging to the Tremin Research
Program on Women's Health (TREMIN), a longitudinal, prospective study
of menstrual cycles and female reproductive health that was begun in
the 1930s by Dr. Alan Treloar at the University of Minnesota. As part
of the TREMIN study, women recorded their menstrual cycles on calendar
cards and were also asked to fill out annual and later biannual health
surveys. The first cohort of women was recruited in the 1930s when
many of them were attending the University of Minnesota. Some of their
daughters, along with additional women, were recruited in the 1960s as
part of a second cohort. Recruitment continued after the second
cohort, and a total of 156 TREMIN women participated in the five-year
BIMORA project. At the beginning of the study, they ranged in age from
25 to 58 years of age and many were from the second TREMIN
cohort. Women could not be using exogenous hormones and had to have at
least one intact ovary. The participating women had TREMIN data going
back as far as the early 1960s, and they continued sending menstrual
bleeding and health data to TREMIN during the BIMORA project. In
addition, from January 15 to July 14 in each of the five years of the
BIMORA project, participants collected daily urine specimens and made
a daily record of medication use, health conditions, and menstrual
bleeding. These data were analyzed in the BIMORA laboratory. The
urine specimens were assayed for urinary conjugates of estrogen,
progesterone, LH, and FSH. The TREMIN data and laboratory data were
then merged into a single dataset.

In the early 1990s, researchers at Georgetown University,
Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Utah proposed a
five-year longitudinal study of female reproductive aging that would
include the collection of hormonal, menstrual cycle, and health data
from a group of women in order to advance the current understanding of
the transition through menopause. The women selected for the BIMORA
project were a subset of women belonging to the Tremin Research
Program on Women's Health (TREMIN), a longitudinal, prospective study
of menstrual cycles and female reproductive health that was begun in
the 1930s by Dr. Alan Treloar at the University of Minnesota. As part
of the TREMIN study, women recorded their menstrual cycles on calendar
cards and were also asked to fill out annual and later biannual health
surveys. The first cohort of women was recruited in the 1930s when
many of them were attending the University of Minnesota. Some of their
daughters, along with additional women, were recruited in the 1960s as
part of a second cohort. Recruitment continued after the second
cohort, and a total of 156 TREMIN women participated in the five-year
BIMORA project. At the beginning of the study, they ranged in age from
25 to 58 years of age and many were from the second TREMIN
cohort. Women could not be using exogenous hormones and had to have at
least one intact ovary. The participating women had TREMIN data going
back as far as the early 1960s, and they continued sending menstrual
bleeding and health data to TREMIN during the BIMORA project. In
addition, from January 15 to July 14 in each of the five years of the
BIMORA project, participants collected daily urine specimens and made
a daily record of medication use, health conditions, and menstrual
bleeding. These data were analyzed in the BIMORA laboratory. The
urine specimens were assayed for urinary conjugates of estrogen,
progesterone, LH, and FSH. The TREMIN data and laboratory data were
then merged into a single dataset.

Guidelines for Applying for Restricted Data

ICPSR offers two methods of accessing the restricted-use data from this study:

secure dissemination of the microdata

remote access to the microdata via ICPSR's Virtual Data Enclave (VDE)

Which Method Should You Choose?

Applicants with a terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DrPH, JD, etc) in a social science field and an appointment at a research institution are likely to
be able to access the data via secure dissemination. Most other applicants will need to access these restricted-use data via the VDE.

Information to Help You Complete Your Request

Applicants should be prepared to provide the following:

Project description supporting need to access the data

IRB document (approval or exemption)

Data Use Agreement signed by the Investigator and a legal representative of the institution

Secure Dissemination: DUA is available within the request system

VDE: DUA is emailed to requester after request is initiated

Data security plan

Secure Dissemination: created within the request system

VDE: In DUA as Attachment A

Roster of research staff who will access the data; may need to include IT staff able to view the data or access the computer where the data are hosted

This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, some data files in this collection are restricted from general dissemination. To obtain these restricted files, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement.

Any public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Universe:
Women of reproductive age from onset of menstruation to
menopause.

Data Type(s):
clinical data

Data Collection Notes:

These data are distributed exactly as they arrived
from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should contact the Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR) archive at ICPSR, dsdr@icpsr.umich.edu, if further information is desired.

The data are also made available in a format developed by the investigators to create an SQL database.

Methodology

Sample:
A subset of women participating in the TREMIN research who
were not using oral contraception nor hormone replacement therapy who
had at least one intact ovary.

Mode of Data Collection:
mixed mode

Data Source:

BIMORA laboratory data

TREMIN calendar card data

TREMIN health questionnaires

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release: 2006-06-09

Version History:

2006-10-25 A copy of the restricted data was
provided for transfer to the secure server. The CASE.COUNT,
VARIABLE.COUNT and LRECL fields were updated with ASCII data
information.

2006-07-20 The BIMORA Restricted Data Use Agreement
is now available for download.